Another GI Gone-"All is not okay for those of us who return home alive"

[Clara T]

January 20, 2006

All is not okay or right for those of us who return home alive and supposedly well. What looks like normalcy and readjustment is only an illusion to be revealed by time and torment. Some soldiers come home missing limbs and other parts of their bodies. Still others will live with permanent scars from horrific events that no one other than those who served will ever understand.

- Douglas Barber, 2005

On January 16th, after having talked quite normally on the phone with at least two other people that same day, Douglas Barber, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) living in Lee County, Alabama, changed the answer-message on his telephone. "If you're looking for Doug," it said in his Alabama drawl, "I'm checking out of this world. I'll see you on the other side." He then called the police, collected his shotgun, and went out onto his porch to meet them.

From the sketchy reports we have now, it seems the police wouldn't oblige him with a "suicide by cop" and tried to talk him down. When it became apparent he wasn't able to commit cop-suicide, 27-year-old Douglas Barber did an about-face, rotated the shotgun and killed himself. There is a hell of a lot that we just don't know about how this happened. I talked to Doug on the phone earlier this month, and he described how excited he was to have joined IVAW, how he looked forward to taking up the pen and speaking out. Others had spoken with him only days and hours before he permanently quieted the chaos in his head. None of the "classic" signs of suicidal thinking were manifest. He was gregarious and upbeat, playful.

We know he had been prescribed medication. When he came back from Iraq, having served with the 1485th Transportation Company, a National Guard unit federalized to compensate for the extreme combat overstretch in Iraq, he was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress (PTSD), and the Veterans Administration medical system leans toward drugs. In fact, they frequently shazam PTSD into something called "personality disorder," which can be treated with drugs. One veteran I know was prescribed Paxil, which made him feel suicidal, and when the VA insisted that it worked, this kid switched to his own anti-depressant - marijuana, which he says works better than the Paxil and doesn't make him feel like killing himself.

<snip>

When the grunts came in, they would describe how many civilians they'd killed. When Doug was in a traffic jam one day, feeling very vulnerable, and the US units dismounted to clear the traffic jam - angry and afraid and waving weapons at the civilians - a woman in a bus held up her baby for them to see ... like that window-sign we see in cars on American highways, "Baby on Board." Only she wasn't cautioning other drivers to be careful. She was trying to prevent an armed attack that could kill her child. Doug may have decomped from medication, I don't know. That could have contributed to his suicide. It's possible.

http://www.ivaw.net/index.php?id=%20206

Damn the bureaucrats in DC. Damn all the politicians that make or enable this atrocity. Damn all the complacent citizens who shirk their duty, stand by and do nothing but watch the tele 24/7.

Stop the War!

Out Now!

[LynnTheDem]

1. Spc. Barber

Last month, on December 16, 2005, Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Spc. Douglas Barber was my guest on my radio talk show. He said he'd been diagnosed with PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder) and despite receiving some help from the V.A., was still having trouble getting his life back together.

Yesterday, one month later, on January 16, 2006, I received an email from a listener who'd been exchanging emails with Douglas since his appearance on my show. Douglas has just sent him an email that troubled the listener. Douglas said he no longer had anything to live for, and was getting ready to "check out of this world." My wife immediately called Douglas and left a message on his cell phone. She also called the Montgomery Police Department in Alabama.

At the start of the 3rd hour of my program last night, I received an email from one of Douglas's friends, who told me that Douglas had committed suicide earlier that afternoon. Today I was able to confirm his suicide with the Opelika, Alabama Police Department. The officer in charge of the investigation told me that it had happened with officers on the scene trying to talk Douglas out of it. The officer told me Douglas took his gun, fired one shot, and killed himself.

Here is a link to the interview Spc. Douglas Barber did on my radio show on December 16, 2005 – commercial and news breaks have been edited out. I am so sick and tired of our brave soldiers dying as a result of George W. Bush's lies, and I feel I owe it to Douglas to do whatever I can to ensure his death was not in vain.

http://www.dougbasham.com/12-16-05DouglasBarber.mp3

Please use this story and the interview in whichever manner you feel will best help the truth be known. Spc. Douglas Barber was truly one of this country's finest. He even re-upped knowing that this war was predicated on lies. He served his country (its leaders) and obviously, did not receive the help he needed when he returned home.

How much longer will this country allow this to continue?

Spc. Douglas Barber
R.I.P.

[Clara T]

2. "Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns"

"Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy."
- Henry Kissinger, quoted in "Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed Its Own POW's in Vietnam"

[Hissyspit]

3. k & r

[FreedomAngel82]

4. I read about this

It's so horrible. :( I wonder if we're prepared for when they do come home. :cry:

[NMMNG]

5. "the Veterans Administration medical system leans toward drugs"

As do most insurance carriers, because it is far cheaper to shell out for a monthly prescription than weekly (or twice/thrice weekly) psychotherapy appointments. This is not to say that medications cannot be of assistance to soldiers suffering from PTSD and other disorders, but psychotherapy, alone or in conjunction with medications, is crucial.

But, of course, money is always the first concern for whoever is footing the bill. Such is the fate of those who serve our country.

[oge]

6. I wish the peace movement were stronger

When I heard Cindy Sheehan speak last month, she said it was because there is no draft and so people don't see the war affecting them personally. But she also talked a lot about apathy. I wonder if the RW devils haven't managed to brainwash a lot of people into believing that the peace movement doesn't affect policy.

Check out this piece for a pretty strong argument on how much peace activists HAVE accomplished:

"The proof of the pudding came during the Reagan administration, whose top national security officials – from the President on down – entered office talking glibly of fighting and winning a nuclear war. But this position quickly changed thanks to a massive popular outcry against it. Starting in April 1982, Reagan began declaring publicly that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought." He added: "To those who protest against nuclear war, I can only say: `I'm with you!'"

"Thus, although there is considerable room for additional research on peace movement efficacy, I think it is fair to say that, on numerous occasions, peace activism has exercised a restraining influence on U.S. foreign and military policy."

http://www.lewrockwell.com/wittner/wittner17.html